[JURIST] The US Department of Justice [official website] on Monday urged [brief, PDF] the US Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit [official website] to reverse the injunction blocking the president's immigration executive action. The government is challenging the preliminary injunction [JURIST report] issued last month that placed a hold …

[JURIST] Arizona Governor Doug Ducey [official website] signed a bill Monday that requires abortion providers in the state to tell women they can reverse the effects of a drug-induced abortion, and also bars women from buying any health care plan through the federal marketplace that includes coverage for abortions. "The …

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] ordered [order list, PDF] the US District Court for the Eastern District of Virginia [official website] to review its decision that state lawmakers gerrymandered African-American voters into one congressional district. In October a three-judge panel of the district court ruled [opinion] that the …

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Monday declined [order list, PDF] to hear a challenge to the Independent Payment Advisory Board (IPAB) provision of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) [text]. The order lets stand a decision [text] by the US Court of Appeals for the …

[JURIST] The Israel Law Center [advocacy website] released a complaint [text, PDF] on Friday asking the US Department of Justice to prosecute several Hamas leaders for their involvement in the attack on Israel's Ben Gurion International Airport (BGA) last summer. The rocket attacks between Israel and Palestine that occurred this …

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Monday granted certiorari [order list, PDF] in two cases titled Kansas v. Carr [SCOTUSblog backgrounder], consolidating them for oral argument. These cases examine whether the Eighth Amendment [text] right to an "individualized sentencing" was violated by the decision not to sever the …

[JURIST] The Arkansas Senate [official website] on Friday approved a controversial bill [bill backgrounder] intended to protect religious freedoms of businesses. Those supporting the Republican-backed say it will protect religious freedoms for businesses, and those opposed say that businesses may be allowed to go too far with the law and …

[JURIST] A former El Salvadoran Defense Minister accused of human rights abuses during the country's 1980s civil war is in US immigration custody to await deportation, immigration officials said Friday. Carlos Eugenio Vides Casanova was arrested in Florida [AP report] where he has been living since 1989. Earlier this month, …

[JURIST] The California Senate Committee on Health [official website] on Wednesday approved legislation [SB 128] that would allow physicians to provide lethal doses of drugs to terminally ill patients to accelerate their deaths. The approval of SB 128 comes after two failed attempts to pass similar legislation. The measure must …

[JURIST] Kansas and Arizona on Wednesday filed notice of an appeal to the US Supreme Court [official website] asking that federal elections officials force residents of their states to prove US citizenship before registering to vote. In November the US Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit [official website] ruled …

[JURIST] The Georgia General Assembly [official website] approved a bill [HB 885, PDF] on Wednesday legalizing marijuana for limited medical purposes. The proposed legislation is expected to be signed into law shortly by Governor Nathan Deal [official website]. The bill, also known as Haleigh's Hope Act, would specifically allow for …

[JURIST] The Kansas legislature [official website] on Wednesday approved SB 95 [text], a proposed ban on an abortion procedure typically used in second trimester abortions, becoming the first state in the country to do so. The procedure, dilation and evacuation, is used in about 8 percent of all abortions conducted …

[JURIST] The Ohio House of Representatives [official website] on Wednesday approved a bill that would make illegal any abortion performed once a fetal heartbeat can be detected. The bill, HB 69 [text], passed the House with a 55-40 vote, but is opposed by Governor John Kasich [official website] on constitutional …

[JURIST] The US military on Wednesday charged [official website] former prisoner of war and Army Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl with "desertion with intent to shirk important or hazardous duty" and "misbehavior before the enemy by endangering the safety of a command, unit, or place." If convicted, Bergdahl could be demoted, dishonorably …

[JURIST] The Indiana Senate on Wednesday gave final approval to a "religious freedom" bill [SB 101] that would allow business owners to turn away customers on the basis of sexual orientation. The bill, approved by a vote of 40-10, will now head to Governor Mike Pence [official website], who is …

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] heard oral arguments [transcript, PDF] Wednesday in three consolidated cases regarding the consideration of the cost of regulating hazardous air pollutants by the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) [official website]. The question before the court was "whether the Environmental Protection Agency unreasonably refused to …

[JURIST] A lawyer for former Guantanamo detainee Omar Khadr [JURIST news archive] asked the Court of Queen's Bench in Edmonton Tuesday to release his client on bail while his US war crimes appeal is being considered. Nathan Whitling argued [Canadian Press report] that his client's appeal is taking too long …

[JURIST] The US Supreme Court [official website] on Wednesday ruled [opinion, PDF] 6-3 in Young v. United Parcel Service [SCOTUSblog backgrounder] that a plaintiff may satisfy the requirement to show a prima facie case of discrimination under the Pregnancy Discrimination Act (PDA) [EEOC backgrounder] by showing that the employer accommodates …